


Catch and Release

by dlyt



Category: Forever Knight
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 13:09:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7641628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dlyt/pseuds/dlyt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Myra Schanke is hunting a present for her husband's birthday, she unwittingly becomes prey for a vampire. Sometimes, who you know can save your life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catch and Release

**Author's Note:**

  * For [argentum_ls (LadySilver)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySilver/gifts).



She never would've noticed him, but for his aftershave. Its fragrance wafted past her when she passed the open door to him as she entered the bookstore on an unseasonably warm Fall evening.  
  
"Mmmm, that's nice," she thought to herself as she proceeded into the store. She turned, ostensibly to consider the display of cookbooks near the entrance, instead using its location as an excuse to turn and casually observe the man who had followed her in from the street.  
  
He was tall and dressed like a businessman in a dark suit. His short, buzz-cut blond hair contrasted with it sharply. He was carrying a shopping bag from the shoe store just down the street and he headed without hesitation to the customer service desk.  
  
As he engaged the clerk behind the counter in conversation, she shifted her attention to a discount books table. She spotted a coffee table book about vintage American muscle cars that might make a nice Christmas gift for her husband's partner, and she opened it to a random page to further evaluate it. When she looked back to the customer service desk, the man was gone.  
  
She finished her shopping and headed for the checkout counter. He was there, just ahead of her in the line of customers waiting their turns to be served. She took the unexpected opportunity to breathe in deeply, seeking another surreptitious sample of his aftershave fragrance. It brought to mind childhood memories of winter evenings spent with a cup of hot cocoa before a cozy fire, and she smiled to herself.  
  
Hesitantly, she reached out and tapped the man on the elbow to get his attention. He turned toward her, and she craned her neck to look up into clear, blue eyes. One eyebrow was raised inquiringly, reminding her incongruously of Spock from the original Star Trek TV series. She smiled up at him, as much at the unexpected thought as to put him at ease.  
  
"Excuse me," she began. "I couldn't help noticing your aftershave," she continued, "or is it a cologne?" she added as an afterthought. "It's very nice, and I'd love to find some for my husband. His birthday is coming up soon. Could you tell me what it is?"  
  
He smiled down at her, shifting his weight to bring him closer than convention allowed, yet she was not put off by his nearness. Indeed, she thought suddenly that she could easily get lost in the depth of those eyes, enveloped in the scent that surrounded him.  
  
He spoke to her then, and later she could not remember a word that he'd said, only that he had the loveliest voice. It reminded her of her father's, back when he was strong and healthy and she was young and listening to him read from that book of poems he liked so well.  
  
Suddenly she realized that he'd stopped speaking, and was looking at her expectantly. "I, I'm sorry," she stammered, "what was that you said?"  
  
If he was bothered by her lapse, he didn't let on. Instead, he leaned in even closer and said in an intimate, quiet voice, "and you would be . . . ?" clearly waiting for her to introduce herself.  
  
She was flustered now, and embarrassed by her distracted behavior. "Oh, my, I'm so sorry," she gushed. "I'm Myra Schanke. My husband, the one I want the cologne for, is a police detective here in Toronto. Now, normally I don't just go up to people and ask such personal questions, but . . . ." Her words trailed off as she noticed their effect on her audience.  
  
The tall man had shifted his weight back and away from her, and his eyes appeared hooded. Though his expression was not unfriendly, it was no longer the enticing, welcoming visage it had been.  
  
At that moment, the sales clerk at the counter called for his attention. It was his turn for service. He nodded pleasantly at Myra and turned away to complete his purchase. When finished, he strode purposefully toward the door and left without a backward glance. When Myra departed the store a few moments later, she saw no sign of him, though she looked both up and down the walkway.  
  
"Hmmm," she thought to herself, "I'm still no closer to finding a birthday gift for Donny. I wish I could remember what that man said about his cologne. Oh, well. Might as well hit the department stores and see if I can find it myself." She walked off.  
  
From the rooftop above her, the tall man watched her move up the street. It had been a pleasant hunt. Actually, it had been more like fishing, he decided. He'd put bait in the water, so to speak, by projecting his essence, his presence, to his surroundings as he ran his errands tonight. Not surprisingly, it had drawn his prey to him. He was sure he would have enjoyed this prey thoroughly, but a promise was a promise, and he was a creature of his word. He'd not interfere with the lives of those mortals near and dear to his son. Certainly not the wife of his son's mortal partner. Nevertheless, he was looking forward to regaling his son later not only with the story of this hunt, but with the identity of the one he'd let get away. With a broad, self-satisfied smile, he took to the air.  


**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to argentum_ls for her help in organizing my story idea for FKFicFest 2016.
> 
> I don't own the rights to Forever Knight or any of its characters, and I'm not writing this for profit.
> 
> This is set sometime during the second season, of course. 
> 
> While fishing recently, I caught a beautiful small-mouth bass. It was a keeper, and it would have been delicious, but I released it for a number of reasons. It occurred to me later that night that vampires might also "fish" for prey on occasion, and this story grew as one explanation of why the "catch" might be released.


End file.
